A show about one son's exploration into his mum's mental health

Mental launches Kickstarter to get to Edinburgh Fringe 2017

We are fundraising to bring Mental to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017 following an overwhelming response from critics, audiences, and mental health organisations at VAULT Festival earlier this year.

After being invited to Edinburgh for the month of August by Assembly Festival, the company are left needing to raise £3,991 to cover the prohibitive costs of taking a theatre production to the Festival. In order to entice people to back the Kickstarter campaign, there are some exciting rewards on offer, including an original limited edition show album and a signed photograph from supporter Stephen Fry. Kane Power Theatre is also offering sponsorship packages.

At a time when mental health is increasingly making the headlines, yet still so many are unable to speak about their experience for fear of stigma, Mental tells a personal story that will get people talking. Created by mother and son, Kim and Kane Power, Mental is a powerful insight into one family’s experience of living with a mental illness.

“Hi, I’m Kane, and this show is about me and my mum, and her mental health. I want you to watch this show and feel like you’ve come and had a chat with an old friend. It’s an exploration of the modern mind with music, anecdotes, and medical notes that I hope will give you a sense of her bipolar world. It is about the mind, yes my mum’s mind and my mind but it’s also about your mind too. And if it’s about the mind, somehow it’s about the heart, the soul, and about humans being.”

Beyond the artistic ambitions of the production, the real aim of the Edinburgh run is to help end the stigma and change the conversation around mental health across the UK. Throughout the run, Mental will be fundraising for Heads Together, The Centre for Mental Health, Bipolar UK as well as local Edinburgh charity Health in Mind.

Mental received critical acclaim at VAULT Festival 2017, along with praise and support for its honest and poignant approach to dealing with mental health.